Monday, November 12, 2007

Michael Jordan is making history and breaking records once again, but this time it's off the b-ball courts. and inside the divorce court. Now, we all know the man who can damn near fly and has more money than God (he has an estimated fortune of $400 million) isn't cramped for cash, but, seriously though, even this has to smart: the legendary baller's pending divorce from his wife, Juanita of 17 years (the couple separated last year) has become the most expensive celebrity divorces of all time with Juanita receiving a whopping $168 million. In addition to the $168 mil, Juanita, 48, will also get their seven-acre estate in Chicago, as well as custody of their three kids. One year following their marriage, the two signed a post-nuptial agreement, which entitled Juanita to half of MJ's net worth. She hasn't quite taken half though, as the $168 million is only a third of his wealth. Nevertheless, we're sure she'll be able to "survive" on just the third. The divorce is expected to be finalized soon, as the settlement details are being finished up.

In related news, his last name is Jordan and his father’s first name is Michael, which means that when Jeff Jordan takes the court as a freshman with the University of Illinois basketball team, all eyes will be on him. But no matter what the expectations of the fans and media are, Michael Jordan doesn’t want his eldest child to be like Mike. Being like Jeff is all he asks. “I want him to be his own person, you know?” Jordan, 44, said as he sat next to his son in a rare interview with TODAY co-host Matt Lauer.

“I want him to enjoy his life, whatever he chooses to be that, you know? If you play basketball, you're a doctor, you're a lawyer, whatever, I'm gonna support you with the love and every effort, every inch of my body. The thing we have tried to tell Jeff is that you pick your own expectations and if you're happy, that's all that matters," Jordan said. "You're never going to make everybody happy."

Jordan talked a bit about his divorce last year from his wife, Juanita, after 17 years of marriage. Along with Jeffrey -- who is majoring in psychology and earned an academic scholarship to Illinois -- the couple have a younger son and daughter. "His mom and I were on the same page when it came to that," Jordan said. "Our kids came first. We still communicate each and every day." Jordan said he talked to his son about mistakes he made in the past, including gambling. While he said there is nothing wrong with gambling, he advised his son to be careful. "My lesson to him was 'Don't ever go outside your means,"' he said.

Jordan said when he attends his son's games, all eyes are on him. So as he's done in the past, he'll make an effort not to show his reactions during Illinois games. His son joked he supports his dad attending games because it takes some pressure off him. "When he's there it kind of helps me a little bit because I know people aren't watching me so much," he said.

Kanye West's family issued a statement Monday after the death of the singer's mother, Donda West, of possible surgical complications:

"Kanye West, his family and friends would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and kind words that have come in from across the country since the death of his mother, Dr. Donda West.

"After working in higher education for 31 years, Dr. Donda West and Kanye West co-founded the Kanye West Foundation with the mission of helping to combat the severe dropout problem in high schools across the country. The first and signature initiative of the Kanye West Foundation is Loop Dreams. Designed to capitalize on students existing interest in hip-hop, Loop Dreams challenges students to learn more about what's behind hip-hop culture in order to help them develop skills, express themselves creatively and be empowered.

"In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Dr. West's name to the Kanye West Foundation/Loop Dreams Teacher Training Institute. Those donations can be made by visiting the Foundation's Web site, The Kanye West Foundation or by mail at Kanye West Foundation, 8560 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069.

"Details of funeral services are still pending."

--Thanks, Madi!

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Donda West, the mother and manager of rapper Kanye West, died following cosmetic surgery it has been confirmed. Patricia Green, Donda West's publicist told CNN West died following a "cosmetic procedure" in Los Angeles at the weekend. Green would not give details about the procedure or exactly what the cause of death was. West died Saturday night at age 58 at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina del Rey after she stopped breathing at her home, according to Deborah Ettinger, a hospital vice president. She was taken to the hospital by paramedics. "We tried to resuscitate her, but were unsuccessful," Ettinger said. West did not have surgery at the hospital, said Ettinger. It was not immediately clear what hospital she had the surgery at or what it was for. The LA County Coroner's office said it would perform an autopsy on West on Wednesay to determine the cause of death.

READ MORE ABOUT KANYE'S MOTHER UNTIMELY PASSING AS WELL AS THE RELATIONSHIP HE SHARED WITH HER AFTER THE JUMP!

In June, West met with Dr. Andre Aboolian of Beverly Hills to inquire about cosmetic surgery. Aboolian told West two weeks ago that she needed to get a medical clearance before he would agree to do the surgery, said his publicist, Jo-Ann Geffen. He never heard back from her, Geffen said. Aboolian was concerned about a condition West had that may cause a heart attack during surgery, said Geffen, declining to elaborate because of patient privacy rights. "He simply said that in order for him to be comfortable, he felt it necessary to have a medical clearance before he'd touch her," Geffen said.

Geffen said she didn't know if West had cosmetic surgery elsewhere. "He feels terrible because he said she was such a sweet lady," Geffen said.

During the MTV special All Eyes on Kanye West in August 2005, West put his relationship with his mom in even more context, saying, "After my parents got divorced and we moved to Chicago at age 3, I would go visit my father on Christmas during breaks and the summer. But the rest of that time, my mother was my everything, if you're an only child. That's my everything." That same year, Kanye released his album Late Registration, and one of the most touching tracks was Hey Mama, a tribute to Dr. West.

"When she first heard it, she was crying," Kanye said of the record. " ... Even me sitting back thinking about all the stuff now, thinking about all the stuff my mother has done for me, it makes me wanna call her."

"Kanye likes to think as a hobby and speak his own mind. He was always like that," Donda West told InStyle earlier this year. "He came out of the womb looking like he had that attitude." The impact she had on her son is undeniable, as is the impact he had on her. Just about every time you saw her around Kanye, she would have the most joyous look on her face. It was pride — she got to see her baby live his dreams.

Rapper Jay-Z paid tribute to Donda at a concert in New York on Sunday Night according to People, asking the crowd for a moment of silence. "Let's get serious for a minute. This show is dedicated to Kanye West who had a death in the family. We got you, Kanye. Stay strong."

Hunnie-bunnie, you are too damn fine and sexy to be bitching, moaning and groaning over some crap that you can't change. You said you were just one man....who couldn't battle a whole record label and that to try to do so would be foolish. Well, guess what else is foolish? Your continous bitching on the matter. And that's real talk too. You've been hanging around that Magilla the Gor-ree-rah a.k.a. 50 Cent too much, dude. As a matter of fact, and I hate to say this, but if you keep up with all of this chickenhead-like, bitch-mode displays of true hateration and bitch-eration, in the end it will slowly but gradually diminish all of that sexy that you have perfectly preserved over the last 20 years. And before long, you're going to have the same kind of utterly unsexy body type as Jay. And I know you don't want that, now do you? No, you don't. Therefore and thus and such--and I say this with the utmost respect--please, please sit your ass down somewhere and shut the fuck up, please, I implore you! (oh, and excuse my Swahili). I'm sorry, but you have left me with no other choice but to place you in my 'This Niggah, here!' category. Think about it.

With Warmest and Sincerest Regards and whatnot,SouthernBlackGurl @ RealGossip101.blogspot.com

Now back to the article....Check it out after the jump!

LL Cool J has a bone to pick with the president of his label, Def Jam. The veteran hip hop artist recently spoke to MTV about his frustration with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter ever since the mogul took office. "I just don't feel like he had the necessary experience to do that job," LL said. "I don't know any other record company that he worked for where he learned how to run this business. This is a label that started in 1984 and you just can't give somebody a job because you want to attract talent and look sexy... because there are artists that suffer," he continued.

LL, who insists "I'm not anti-Jay-Z, I'm [just] pro-LL," said he was open minded about Jigga's appointment as president in the beginning. "I would be completely supportive because you never know what a man knows and you never underestimate people and you never assume it's gonna be a bad move, so you embrace it with open arms," he said, adding that things started happening shortly into his reign that eroded his optimism – including the lack of access to the chief. I haven't spoken to him in a long time, it's unfortunate," said LL. "The bottom line is -- you gotta do your job man. And if you don't know how to do your job then maybe Universal needs to pay you the money you deserve as an artist and give somebody who really knows the job, the job."

Jay-Z's take on LL's diarrhea at the mouth rants? "He's a legend. He's upset, not me. If he wanna work it out, I'm more than willing to do that. I'll be honest if I wanted to go there, I just really go all the way out there. But I got respect for [LL Cool J] did a lot of things. I don't like the way he's carrying it cause we coulda definitely talked about this. Or he coulda gave me a phone call... but I respect him as a legend in the game and he's gonna geta couple passes because of that."

LL also had an issue with last week's release of Jay-Z's American Gangster album and how it took precedence over everyone else at the label. "Let's take this soundtrack for instance; shouldn't there be other Def Jam artists on this soundtrack? Shouldn't this be the big Def Jam project with Def Jam artists involved," he asked. "Nas has a record, (another Def Jam artist) has a record. You have LL working on an album for a year and then you have the president putting out his album in the middle of the schedule. I mean... really look at what's going on."

The New York Post's Page Six heard reports that Halle Berry and her model boyfriend, Gabriel Aubry, are expecting a baby boy. "She's so excited," one source said. "She says she's never been happier than now, when she's pregnant." During a recent visit to the talk show "Ellen," host DeGeneres ran a series of tests that are supposed to tell the sex of the baby – all of which determined that she would have a boy. To be clear, Berry hasn't officially announced if she's basting a baby boy in her bun holder. And chances are she never will announce that sort of info considering the fact that she and Aubry have decided to wait to find out the baby's sex when he or she is delivered early next year.

Oh, and FYI, if you're gonna click on that photo of Halle (in the upper left hand corner) to see its full image, please do so with extreme caution and whatnot! There's no doubt in my mind that Halle's angel is gonna be well-fed once he or she gets here!

Here's a movie I can't wait to see. Everybody Hates Chris star Tichina Arnold will take on her first big-screen dramatic title-lead role of her acting career when she stars in the independent film, The Lena Baker Story, about the first woman in the state of Georgia sent to the electric chair. The 44-year-old African American woman became a virtual sex slave to her white employer and killed him, claiming self-defense. "The film is a cradle-to-grave story that offers a real perspective on Lena as opposed to just one incident," writer-director-producer Ralph Wilcox tells the Hollywood Reporter. "Race does play a part, but this story is really about a woman torn between a rock and a hard place."

In 2005, Baker's story made national headlines after the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles announced it would grant a full pardon to Lena Baker and present a proclamation to her descendants at the board's Aug. 30 meeting in Atlanta. The board did not find Baker innocent of the crime, but instead found the decision to deny her clemency in 1945 was in error. Baker was sentenced to death following a one-day trial before an all-white, all-male jury in Georgia. She didn't have a praying chance. In the trial transcripts, Baker testified that her employer, E.B. Knight, held her against her will in a grist mill and threatened to shoot her if she tried to escape. She testified she grabbed his gun and shot him when he tried to hit her with a metal bar.

According to the Reporter, the $2.5 million project is the first filmed in the new 22,000-square-foot Jokara-Micheaux production facility in Colquitt, Ga, marking an important step toward revitalizing one of the poorest districts in the United States. As director of the Southwest Georgia Film Commission, Wilcox obtained about $1 million from government grants to build the studio.

Beverly Todd will play Baker's mother, while Peter Coyote stars as her victim. Michael Rooker will portray the sheriff who arrested her.

About a month ago, I posted a blog entry announcing that former My Wife and Kids frontman and creator, Damon Wayans will return to ABC to star in another (unnamed) family sitcom starring himself. Now, it's been reported that Wayans fellow comedian colleague, Bernie Mac will also return to his old stomping grounds at FOX to do the same. Fox has won a fierce bidding war to acquire a new Bernie Mac sitcom that is reportedly one of the biggest – if not the biggest – comedy deals of the now-suspended development season. Tentatively titled Starting Under, the Warner Bros. TV project from Drew Carey Show creator Bruce Helford received a substantial series commitment from Fox, (believed to be an unheard-of seven episodes.)

According to Variety, the deal was hammered out late last Friday, making it the last major pilot pact before the writers strike began Monday. "I've been a huge Bernie Mac fan forever and felt we needed to bring that star back to TV," said Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly.

The multi-camera project will star Mac as a large, opinionated guy (not unlike himself in that respect) who winds up divorced and living with his introverted twentysomething son. What's more, he also winds up working for his son.

"Bruce constructed a really clean construction, a solid vehicle for Bernie," Reilly said. "And he doesn't have it all riding on Bernie's shoulder. There's a great twist of a father-son relationship there, too. I have to hand it to Bruce -- he nailed it." Reilly said he'd been chasing Mac for some time and even tried to get into business with the former Bernie Mac Show star earlier this season.

Mac's recent credits include the features Ocean's Thirteen, Transformers, Charlie's Angels and Pride. He spent five seasons as the star of Bernie Mac and is also well known for his standup career as one of the Original Kings of Comedy.

We read what Darius McCrary had to say about Karrine's so-called relationship with Lil Wayne and Bobby Brown. Now, check out what Superhead revealed to Vibe magazine about these guys.

KARRINE ON HER FEELINGS FOR JA RULE, BOBBY BROWN AND LIL WAYNE:

--On Ja Rule: 'Seven years ago, he was the best. Now, it's like, Eh, no, not at all.'

--On Bobby Brown: 'That man is so disgusting. All those rumors about him and me are just disgusting rumors. I don't know whose couch he's on today, but it's not mine. Let that be a lesson to everybody--if you need a place to sleep at 4 o'clock in the morning because you're drunk, I'm going to give you a place on the couch. But I'm going to put your ass on the Internet for being a bum.'

--On Lil Wayne:'It was hard at first because I had to learn how to love him. He's not like any other guy. It's like he's from another planet. People ask me, 'What if Wayne calls today and proposes to you? Would you just dump the person who's been in your house and bonding with your kid?' You know what? Yeah. I would. If I had my choice, Wayne would be in my pool with my son playing fucking volleyball, but that's not the kind of person he is right now...but I'm willing to wait until he's ready. In the meantime he's like my best friend. I just love him, love him, love him, love him! Ugh, God, I can't believe he did this to me! Whatever ideas I had about my life, he totally blew them up.' And what about his other women? 'I really don't care. I trump all them hoes.' *Yeah, Karrine. You have learned sooooooooo very much since releasing your first book.*

MORE ON KARRINE'S DELUDED STATE OF MIND AFTER THE JUMP!

KARRINE STEFFANS ON HER UPCOMING PROJECTS (WHICH BY THE WAY, INCLUDES LIL WAYNE): 'In December I'm releasing the super-deluxe Lil Wayne edition of The Vixen Diaries audio book as an iTunes exclusive. It'll include the original version, and extra chapter or two from me, plus an extra chapter that Wayne is writing. And he's scoring the entire thing--like a mini-LP throughout the book.'

KARRINE ON HER THIRD BOOK, THE VIXEN MANUAL (WHICH IS MORE OF A GUIDE THAN A TELL-ALL): 'I want women to be more passionate about their sexuality. You've been taught for so long to be ashamed of it, you're afraid to be a whore with your husband. Let him get that butthole, girl. Don't be scared, or your husband's going to leave you for the next little slut-bucket that does.' *Whoa! How can she all anyone a slut-bucket?! She better stop playing!*